Overview

• Nearly 20,000 migrants reached the UK by small boat in the first half of 2025, a 50% rise on the same period last year and pushing total arrivals since 2018 above 170,000.
• France will begin intercepting dinghies within 300 metres of the shore in early July under a newly approved maritime doctrine.
• French police have started using teargas and pepper spray to disperse migrant groups gathering on beaches before crossings.
• UK and French officials are drafting a one-in, one-out returns scheme to exchange Channel returnees for asylum seekers with UK family connections.
• Humanitarian concerns persist after 73 people died during crossings in 2024 and smugglers adopted overcrowded dinghies and ‘taxi boats’ to evade patrols.